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Android Google Operating Systems

Google Hasn't Updated Android Distribution Data In 6 Months (venturebeat.com) 62

Posted by msmash from the what's-happening dept.
An anonymous reader writes: The Android developer website hosts a distribution dashboard that details the adoption of Google's mobile operating system versions. With over 2 billion active Android devices out there, this is useful information that Google updates on a monthly cadence. But Google stopped updating the page last year -- today marks the six-month mark. We've reached out to Google multiple times in the past half a year. In January, Google told us that the dashboard was undergoing site maintenance and that we'd hear back when it's fixed. In April, the company declined to comment.
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Google Hasn't Updated Android Distribution Data In 6 Months More

Google Hasn't Updated Android Distribution Data In 6 Months

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  • Google abandoned something? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I'm shocked! This is completely without precedent!

    • Yes, but Android is a core part of its business, Google usually drops less then successful products, But Android has been giving Apple its bruising for a while.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by nwf ( 25607 )

      I'm guessing that the page in question only serves to prove how fragmented the ecosystem is and how out of date most devices are. None of that makes them look good.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday April 29, 2019 @11:11AM (#58510104)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • "Waah waah, a company that gives me free services isn't doing what I want them to do and has the gall to want to make money instead"

      grow up, boy

    • You also almost certainly don't buy your phone from them. You buy a Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola or other phone with an OS from the Open Handset Alliance. All this "Android is a Google product" bullshit is just nonsense spewed by Google haters who aren't about to be confused by the facts. ... and no, I am not a Google fanboi. I just like knowing facts and preferring them to ignorance based spin.

    • We do not give them any money, so we are nmot their customer and they do not give a fuck about you.

      That comment is incredibly ignorant considering we're talking about the developer portal here. Yes in this regard they are most definitely given money, and they definitely give a fuck since availability of functional apps remains a key battle ground for platforms.

  • Google never has been a reliable partner (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Monday April 29, 2019 @11:18AM (#58510156)

    I usually avoid Recommending Google Products (And Apple Too) for business use. Because Google doesn't like playing the Legacy Support game, and when a project get dull or just isn't popular enough Google like to Drop the idea, or just let it linger.

    I am not saying Google is planning to Drop Android, but I feel Google may be internally struggling to get its Android Development Teams prepped for the Long Haul Development methodology. Where coding can no longer break compatibility unless properly documented and explained. Security Fixes need to be address across old versions, and relationships with major partners are properly in place.

    These changes from the Agile product, to an infrastructure project puts Google out of its comfort zone. I expect Android Development team, is getting hindered from new rules and policies. Over time, I expect Google to get back on track, after they get things fixed up.

    • More than likely, it's Fuchsia gumming up the dev teams. They keep pushing the launch back further and further, with little news coming out . Their version of a "penultimate OS" is starting to look more Windows 10...
      Really wish Sailfish was available on more models right now!

    • I am not saying Google is planning to Drop Android, but I feel Google may be internally struggling to get its Android Development Teams prepped for the Long Haul Development methodology. Where coding can no longer break compatibility unless properly documented and explained.

      I have a different view on all this. What is it they would be prepping for? What needs to be developed? Knowing where your user base is was a critical piece of information several years ago when mobile platforms were moving targets with continuously changing and evolving APIs.

      But now? What software actually requires the most recent version of Android? Or the version 2-3 versions behind? What killer API has been introduced that would make deployment information critical to developers?

      I don't agree this is a

  • Since Alphabet (Score:3)

    by jwymanm ( 627857 ) on Monday April 29, 2019 @11:31AM (#58510212) Homepage
    I feel like Google is under zero management. There is almost no hype or advertising of any new products. If there is it is over by the time they release the advert. They constantly are removing products people are happily using and trying to replace them with half baked limited options that they released within the past 3 years and haven't even promoted well enough for anyone to know they exist or improved their feature set to even outdo their "old" stuff. It feels like they have zero compass for where they are going. I felt like even Windows Phone had more direction than Android. This comes from someone who only uses android and has bought in the past unfortunately Google TV and some of their devkits that all got discontinued or barely worked on.

    I hate Apple but they are starting to look way better despite the walled garden. I'd still sooner install full blown Linux than use an iPhone because of the walled garden but whatever. I feel like Android is going to be replaced with custom linux based distributions that can run android apps here soon.

    • I felt like even Windows Phone had more direction than Android.

      Back when Windows Phone was a thing, Android had clear development direction and hype to boot. Rather than comparing two platforms which are spread across a different time, instead answer you own question: What is it that you're missing? What is it that mobile phones should be hyped about? What is it that should make them exciting? What is the "killer" API missing in the OS?

      This isn't a Google problem. It's a maturity problem. A release of Android should ideally be as exciting as a Linux kernel point releas

  • Statistics = Bad publicity? Shut 'em down. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by zarmanto ( 884704 ) on Monday April 29, 2019 @11:33AM (#58510218) Journal

    Personally, I think that someone on the Android development team finally realized that sharing these statistics wasn't necessarily good for PR. So really, if they're doing anything at all, they're most likely trying to find a way to "fix" the statistics themselves, rather than the website which delivers those statistics. After all, geeky publications often comment about the frustratingly long amount of time it takes to get Android security updates through the various carriers... but the more important take-away from their statistics to date might actually be that the vast majority of Android users just don't upgrade their operating system at all... in many cases because they can't.

    • Personally, I think that someone on the Android development team finally realized that sharing these statistics wasn't necessarily good for PR.

      I think someone realised that it's no longer relevant. Do you know of any software that actually targets the latest API and isn't compatible with past versions of Android? This was all quite important 5 years ago when the platform was a moving target of killer features. But right now? What developer right now would give a damn? Have a look at the latest API changes while trying not to fall asleep looking for something relevant and exciting to program.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AuMatar ( 183847 )

        Its relevant to decide how far back to support. Do I support 4.4? 5.0? 6.0? All of these add new APIs to make my life easier. The balancing act is how much of the market do we fail to address by cutting out the older versions? That's what this data is used for.

  • They probably put Claire Stapleton in charge of it.

  • No new features (Score:3)

    by fred6666 ( 4718031 ) on Monday April 29, 2019 @03:01PM (#58512038)

    I was a time where every Android update brought a killer new feature. Android 2.2 enabled multi touch, WiFi hotspot and GPS navigation in Google maps for free (Garmin and Tomtom stocks fell as a result). Android 2.3 added official support for front facing cameras and NFC.

    What did the past 3 Android version bring that we didn't already have?

    And this is not a complain. Maybe it's just feature complete, and developers can target old versions from 3-4 years ago without missing anything important.

  • The ads are well looked after.

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